Two weeks away, Rio announced the definitive cancellation of the Reveillon by Covid-19

The plan of the traditional festivities with music and fireworks that each year attract crowds to Copacabana beach had already undergone modifications due to the virus, which killed more than 23,700 people in the state of Rio de Janeiro and has put pressure again his health system.

"Although the party had been projected in a new format (without the presence of the public, without burning fires and to be followed by TV) at this time the Mayor's Office opts to cancel the event in respect of all the victims and to favor the safety of all "said the institution in a statement.

" It is a necessary decision for the protection of all. The party will be one of hope for the good results of the vaccines. " , added Mayor Marcelo Crivella, who for now has not decreed a new closure of shops, bars, restaurants or beaches.

The 2021 carnival was also canceled, but there is the possibility that it will be held out of time, in case the population can be vaccinated.

Rio de Janeiro, a state with 17 million inhabitants, accumulates the highest rate of deaths from covid-19 in Brazil: 138 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 87 in the whole country or 96 in Sao Paulo, the most populous state.

Brazil surpassed the 180,000 dead mark and has faced a rebound in the pandemic since November.

In the last 14 days the country registered an average of 622 deaths and 42,000 new infections per day, according to official data.

The Brazilian government assures that it has guaranteed access to 300 million doses of vaccines, mainly those developed by the University of Oxford in alliance with the AstraZeneca group and the Brazilian institute Fiocruz, and the international initiative Covax Facility. It also negotiates another 70 million doses with Pfizer.

But the entire vaccination plan, the details of which will be announced this week, has been punctuated by political disputes between President Jair Bolsonaro and the governor of Sao Paulo, Joao Doria, his possible adversary in the 2022 elections.

While Doria defends the inclusion in the national plan of the CoronaVac vaccine, developed by the private Chinese laboratory Sinovac in association with the Butantan Institute of Sao Paulo, Bolsonaro has tried to discredit her, alleging that it is of a political maneuver by his rival and the Chinese communist regime.